We've spent the last 11 days travelling in a loop through an area of the Australian outback just south of the Gulf of Carpentaria, and have done about 3000 km. The Gulf savannah is an area of rugged beauty and stark colours with wide blue skies, dry golden pasturelands interspersed with Eucalyptus trees and red soil. It's criss-crossed by creeks and rivers which are home to crocodiles; dry at the moment for the most, but overflowing and flooding once "the wet" comes. The road cuts straight through the landscape like a red spear connecting small towns of 2-300 people with little shops from a bygone era, that lie up to several kilometers apart.
The wildlife is far more apparent than we expected - wallabies, kangaroos, emus and eagles along the roadside; frogs, lizards and toads around the campsites, and a variety of birds in rainbow colours chattering away in the trees. We passed endless herds of cattle clustered round waterholes or searching for shade under the treesfrom the relentless sun. The temperature was mostly between 30 - 40 degrees C. Hot!!It's been an amazing adventure. We've learnt to check under the toilet seats for green frogs, change tyres in blistering heat (3 punctures in week !) and to take things as they come. In the outback you are expected to help one another, and we have met immense kindness and friendliness along the way. The Aussie expression "No worries" has guided us through.
We set off from Cairns in our 4WD with its tent on the roof (and one in the back for Kirsty) heading west through the Atherton Tablelands. A mountainous area of partly cleared rainforest (part of the Great Dividing Range), which now looks very rural and a lot like England except for the exotic vegetation and the purple Jacaranda trees. Our first night in Yungaburra was punctuated by rain and little sleep thanks to a lively group of Australians!
Once over the mountains the area flattened out into Savannah grasslands as we headed towards the gulf. The road is mostly only one lane with rough trach either side, so you have to keep your eyes open for roadtrains (over 50 m long) and get off the road. We spent the second night in Georgetown. It was Saturday night and the annual "Bushman's Ball", so everyone (young and old) were dressed to kill. Then on to the Gulf coast and the fishing village of Karumba, where the weather was hot and sultry and we watched the beautiful sunset while eating freshly caught prawns.
After that the road turned to dirt track for the 250 km to Burketown (the original for "A town like Alice"). A tiny place, but definitely the friendliest place in the outback, with a pub full of odd and interesting characters who were more than ready to talk to the strangers in town.
We then turned south, still on dirt tracks, heading for Boodjamulla (Lawn Hill) national park. However, a blowout meant a day of waiting by the Gregory river for a new tyre before we could continue. The national park is a remnant rainforest oasis in a gorge with a sizeable river. It was like stumbling on the Garden of Eden, and we spent a couple of days lounging around, swimming, canoeing and walking, in between watching the wallabies and looking for freshwater crocodiles.
Then south again and east through a more arid and dull landscape with larger mining towns. Cloncurry, where the Rev. John Flynn started the Flying Doctor Service, hasn't seen rain for 2 and a half years! After driving eastwards for several hundred kilometers we turned north again. The Undara lava tubes made an interesting stop along the way before finally heading back to Cairns and the east coast.
